The bullets tend to partially fragment when fired through laminated glass, meaning that the bullet, several fragments, and even pieces of glass might impact the target inside the vehicle.

Also notice that the bullet is still below the point of aim of the shooter, but by a smaller margin than the 9mm round.

The .40 S&W round penetrated the passenger seat completely.

Even striking the target in the back seat of the vehicle.

Next up, a .45 being fired through a MK23 SOCOM pistol.

Notice how the main point of impact (which is indicated by the red pen in all the pictures) is at the point of aim.

Again, the bigger the bullet, the less deflection you are likely to see.

The .45 also had less fragmentation than the 9mm or the .40 S&W rounds.

So I bet you are wondering where the photos are of the .45’s passthrough, right?

Well, it didn’t penetrate the passenger seat.

Before the .40 S&W fanatics start to post about how superior the .40 round is to the .45, a word needs to be said about the seats in this Buick.

The seats in this car are built around what appears to be a VERY sturdy metal frame. This frame is, quite literally, bulletproof, heavier than I have seen in just about any other vehicle.

I have done vehicle shoots before, and the .45 and .40 normally penetrate that seat fairly easily, while the 9mm and 357 sig sporadically penetrate it.

The .40 round in this series just seems to have hit a sweet spot that didn’t have any steel in it.

People talk about how poorly GM cars are built, but as the shoot wore on we found that this particular Buick was actually a pretty tough cookie.

As before, we will also look at what happens when you put multiple rounds in roughly the same spot.

Here as in the inside example, a 9mm Glock is used.

Again, if you put multiple rounds through the same hole in the laminated glass, the deflection factor goes away.

As does the limited protection offered by the seat frame.

Lessons learned:When shooting through the windshield into the passenger compartment of a vehicle, you need to keep three things in mind:

1. Laminated glass and the angle of the windshield may cause your round to deflect lower than your point of aim. How much depends on the angle of the windshield and the weight of the bullet you are using.

2. When fired through laminated glass, bullets tend to partially fragment, reducing the effectiveness of the bullet and causing there to be secondary projectiles (bullet jackets, glass, etc) that can impact the target OR other people in the vehicle.

3. When firing a bullet into a passenger compartment, there is no guarantee that it will hit ONLY the target you intend to hit.

1 Comment on The Buick O’ Truth #2 – Windshields Outside/In

“Before the 40 fanatics” and “GM products aren’t built well”, no it’s us .40 “fanatics” and Chevy guys who’ve found the best of both worlds, and all the folks who change calibers and vehicles like most people do underwear need to chill and just let well enough alone!!